KICKING OFF NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

My friend Muri hosts a poetry challenge every April. If you’d like to participate and want the details, click HERE. I didn’t recognize most of the poetic forms on her list, so it’s going to be a steep learning curve for me this year. This first poem is a DECIMA. Years ago, I had a coworker who was a real practical joker. She lived for April Fool’s Day and got one over on just about everyone. No matter how determined I was not to bite, she would reel me in. My determination may have made me an easier target. Pranking isn’t complicated, but it requires two essential things: a poker face and a plausible lie. I got her once, almost by accident. I took a message for her from the school principal, asking her to call in about her son. She agonized about it all day. Had he picked a fight or gotten himself suspended? It turns out he had been selected for induction into the National Honor Society. Without further ado…

FOOL

I’m feeling like an April Fool,
sitting here hoodwinked and bumming,
too naïve to see it coming.
A plausible lie, her only tool,
told straight-faced, her manner cool.
“There’s a policeman on the phone,
a stoplight camera thing, he said…”
My heart speeds up… I ran a red?
With shaky hands and a sickly groan,
I say hello to Sergeant Dial Tone.